ABB Transportation

ABB Transportation was the rail-traction division of Asea Brown Boveri, the Swedish-Swiss multinational engineering conglomerate formed in 1988 by the merger of Sweden's ASEA and Switzerland's BBC Brown Boveri. From 1989 ABB moved decisively into British rail manufacturing by acquiring a substantial share of British Rail Engineering Limited's locomotive-building capacity, including Crewe Works and York Carriage Works, giving ABB Transportation a significant manufacturing base in the United Kingdom at a critical moment in the privatisation and reorganisation of British rolling stock procurement.

ABB Transportation's British involvement came at a turbulent time for the UK rolling stock industry: the winding up of BREL had left a gap in British locomotive and multiple-unit manufacturing, and ABB's acquisition of key works gave the firm both the facilities and the experienced workforce to bid for the new contracts that emerged from the privatised railway era. The Class 92 Channel Tunnel freight and passenger electric locomotive was among ABB's most significant British contributions, combining electric operation under both the French 25 kV AC and the British 750 V DC third-rail systems in a single capable locomotive purpose-built for the new international rail link.

ABB Transportation also contributed to the Class 323 electric multiple unit, supplying traction equipment for the West Midlands and Manchester commuter routes that helped establish the modern British EMU pattern of high-capacity AC electric commuter stock. The company worked across both rolling stock manufacture and traction systems supply in the UK, making it one of the dominant names in British rail traction in the early 1990s.

In 1995 ABB Transportation merged with Daimler-Benz Transportation to form ADtranz (ABB Daimler-Benz Transportation), and the ABB Transportation name ceased to exist as a separate entity. The legacy of ABB's British involvement continued through ADtranz and its successor Bombardier Transportation, which held the former BREL works at Derby Litchurch Lane until Alstom's acquisition of Bombardier's rail division in 2021.

Biography

ABB Transportation was the rail-traction division of Asea Brown Boveri, the Swedish-Swiss multinational, formed in 1988 by the merger of ASEA and BBC Brown Boveri. From 1989 ABB acquired BREL's locomotive-building business, including Crewe Works and York Carriage Works, and held them until 1995. ABB Transportation supplied or contributed to the Class 92 Channel Tunnel locomotive, the Class 323 EMU and other late-BR rolling stock projects.

In 1995 ABB Transportation merged with Daimler-Benz Transportation to form ADtranz.

Locomotives designed

British Rail Class 165 Networker Turbo — BR Class 165 "Networker Turbo" — two- or three-car DMU built 1990–92 by BREL York. 76 sets. Used on Chiltern and Thames Valley services. Many still in service.
British Rail Class 166 Networker Turbo — BR Class 166 "Networker Turbo" — three-car DMU built 1992 by ABB York. 21 sets. Used on Thames Valley services (originally GWR Reading–Oxford/Reading–Newbury). Many still in service.
British Rail Class 325 — BR Class 325 — four-car postal EMU built 1995–96 by ABB. 16 sets. Royal Mail postal trains. Withdrawn from postal service 2003–04 but retained for parcels traffic; some still operational in 2026.
British Rail Class 365 — BR Class 365 "Networker Express" — four-car dual-voltage EMU built 1994–96 by ABB York. 41 sets. Originally built for both Great Northern and Kent Coast services with switch-mode AC/DC capability. Withdrawn 2020. Some preserved.
British Rail Class 365 Networker Express — Reference to Class 365 Networker — Express variant.

Born	1 January 1988
Died	31 December 1995
Nationality	Multinational (Swedish-Swiss)
Employer	ABB (Asea Brown Boveri), UK operations at the former BREL Crewe Works